Ch.99Step Aside, I Have Something for You to Do (1)

When Sol-young returned home, his face was filled with indescribable bewilderment.

Despite maintaining a stoic poker face through his sister’s turbulent adolescent phase—enduring her whims, tantrums, and various outbursts—this time, he couldn’t hide his expression after being caught off guard by Miss Ban Do-young’s surprise attack.

“What’s wrong, bro-ther? Why so serious?”

“Well, normally a serious face would be appropriate. After something like that. Especially when you, Ban Do-young, call me ‘brother.'”

“Why? I’m calling you brother because you are my brother. Even if you said you’d be right back but left me in the car for an hour while you happily flirted with our homeroom teacher, you’re still my brother, aren’t you…?”

“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

“Apologies should come with money, not words.”

“…Isn’t it usually ‘actions, not words’?”

“Really? Then show me with actions. Because of someone, I wasted an hour and had to rush through today’s kendo lesson, and now I’m incredibly thirsty. Do-hamin, aren’t you thirsty too?”

“I-I’m actually fine…”

“Did you hear that? Do-hamin says he’s extremely thirsty!”

I made a V-sign with my index and middle fingers, bringing them to my lips as I spoke to Sol-young.

“Get me a cola, Zero Lime.”

“…”

“Get two. One for me and one for Do-hamin.”

.

.

.

“Hey, Sol-young, where are you going? It’s pouring outside. Do you have another appointment?”

“Going to buy cola. Zero Lime.”

“Huh? You don’t even drink soda. Did your taste change in the military?”

“No, it’s not for me.”

“Don’t tell me Ban Do-young is making you run errands? That little brat ordering around her brother who’s home on leave… I should have a word with her.”

“Dad, it’s fine. I want to buy it for her. Don’t scold her. I can do this much for my beloved little sister.”

“R-really…? If you’re okay with it, then I guess it’s fine…”

“Get the big ones! The bottles!”

“…I’m spending a lot of money today.”

.

.

.

-Tsss

“Ahh… Nothing beats Zero Lime after a workout.”

This clean, refreshing feeling as it goes down my throat.

Cola really is best as Zero Lime.

The vending machine at the hospital was such an old model that it didn’t have Zero Lime or any zero-calorie drinks at all, so I had to drink regular cola.

Since I’m used to drinking only Zero Lime,

the lingering sweetness of regular cola was quite bothersome.

“Hmm, why aren’t you drinking, brother? You must be tired from ‘driving,’ why not wet your whistle?”

“I’m good. I had some coffee from the teachers in the faculty room earlier.”

“I see, then I’ll drink yours too for recovery purposes. Because ‘driving’ is tiring, right?”

“…”

“What’s wrong? If you have something to say, say it. Brother.”

“Sigh… No, it’s fine. I’m not in a position to blame you anyway.”

Sol-young responded with a deep sigh, not falling for the slightly dangerous provocation.

Though I was flustered, Sol-young didn’t hold me particularly accountable for the incident.

No major accident had occurred, and even if he reported this to Dad, with our semiconductor Miss Ban,

‘You knew Do-young was the type to cause such trouble and you left her in the car for an hour? And with Hamin there too! Ban Sol-young, you’re just as bad! Come here and get down on the floor!’

This outcome was inevitable.

In other words, Sol-young couldn’t escape responsibility either.

“Let’s keep this between us and not tell Dad. If I told him about this, I wouldn’t get off easy either.”

“Right? I figured as much, so I decided to act like nothing happened.”

Just as expected.

Sol-young chose mutual coexistence over mutual destruction.

“Still, don’t ever do something like that again. At the very least, if you’re going to cause trouble, do it when someone who can handle it is around. Only cause accidents I can cover for, got it?”

“Why, worried your beloved sister might be in danger?”

“Of course.”

“…Huh?”

“How could I not worry? We’re family.”

“…Hmm.”

I-I didn’t expect this kind of answer.

His straightforward response was a sharp surprise in its own way.

“You and I just came back from visiting a kid injured in a traffic accident. After seeing that child in person, how can you be so careless? Even just hearing about it made me terrified that you might pick up one of those scooters and get into an accident.”

“…Well, that’s…”

“And with your boyfr— I mean, your classmate there too. Even if you don’t care about yourself, didn’t you think about him getting hurt?”

“…”

And Sol-young’s surprise attack accurately hit the unfairness of my actions.

As Sol-young said, I had ignored Do-hamin’s opinion and driven the car as I pleased.

I wasn’t worried because I thought it was something I could naturally do.

I didn’t consider how much worry and anxiety my actions might cause to people who didn’t know my circumstances.

That’s right.

The memories of getting my license were from my original world.

They weren’t Ban Do-young’s.

While I might have confidently taken the wheel without any anxiety,

I hadn’t considered how Do-hamin felt watching from the side.

“D-Do-young’s brother.”

At that moment, Do-hamin, sweaty from the kendo lesson, stepped in front of Sol-young.

There was such a height difference that he could easily see the top of Ban Do-young’s head,

but standing before Sol-young, who could easily look down on Ban Do-young, the difference in their builds became even more apparent.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure if I should use your name or call you ‘hyung’…”

“It’s fine, feel free to call me hyung. I’m Ban Sol-young.”

“Th-thank you. Then, Sol-young hyung…”

Having received permission to call him “hyung,” Do-hamin lowered his already small stature even further

and bowed his head to Sol-young.

“I’m sorry, hyung. I was right beside her but couldn’t stop Do-young. I’ve always received help from Do-young, but when she was about to do something dangerous, I couldn’t stop her. It’s all my fault.”

“…Do-hamin.”

“…No one in our family except Mom has ever been able to stop Ban Do-young. You don’t need to apologize.”

“No, I think I should. If I hadn’t been there, Do-young wouldn’t have taken the wheel herself.”

“Hmm, so you’re saying you have enough influence over Ban Do-young to change her actions or thoughts?”

“Ah, no…! That’s not what I meant… It’s just that my presence forced her to make that choice… She couldn’t just abandon the car and leave…”

“But ultimately, she did it to secure time for your kendo lesson, right? I don’t think what you’re saying is wrong.”

“I-I’m sorry… Please don’t read too deeply into what I just said…”

Whether he realized his statement was slightly presumptuous,

or just now understood the weight of his words,

Do-hamin shook his head, waving his hands.

“Hamin… right?”

“Ah, yes. Do Hamin.”

Sol-young shook off the raindrops that had formed on his forehead,

and gazed steadily at Do-hamin standing before him.

“I can see why Dad and Ban Do-young like you. At first, I thought she just kept you around because you were easy to tease.”

“Th-that’s not entirely wrong…”

“That’s true. That kid, she can only treat you like a toy for now.”

“Hehe. So, ‘for now’ is the current state…?”

“Your laugh is disgusting.”

-Thud

Sol-young grabbed Do-hamin’s shoulder and straightened up the boy who had been hanging his head.

“I’m counting on you next time. When Dad and I aren’t around, be my sister’s restraint. Keep her from causing any accidents. If she resists, just pick her up and slam her down.”

“I-I’ll try to avoid violence if possible. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Oh, so you’ll subdue Ban Do-young with words alone? That’s even more impressive. Tell me how it goes later.”

“Hey, Do-hamin. Let’s do one more set to fill today’s quota and finish up. We still have some time left.”

“Ah, okay, just a moment…!”

“…”

After sending Do-hamin off, Sol-young glanced outside,

likely looking at the van visible through the window.

“…Parked so neatly. It took me quite a while to park like that. When did she secretly go to Hawaii without Dad and me knowing?”

“Hey, if you’ve got nothing to do, let’s spar. I want to try some legal rebellion. Sol-young-nim, how about a match?”

“Sure, why not. Seeing you in that uniform brings back memories. It’s been a while since I’ve held a shinai.”

And so, that day’s incident became a perfect crime—a secret shared only by Sol-young, me, and Do-hamin.

**

“Phew… This is the most refreshing time of the day.”

After finishing kendo practice, before returning to school for night study,

Hamin enjoyed the lingering freshness after showering in the dojo’s shower room, sitting on a chair in the changing room.

“You seem quite accustomed to using our dojo’s shower.”

“Ah, Sol-young hyung.”

Sol-young, who had also worked up a sweat teaching kendo, used the dojo’s shower room instead of home.

The bathroom at home was occupied by a pretty young chicken soup—his blood relative—brewing stock in the gloomy weather, so he naturally chose the first-floor shower room.

“You worked hard today.”

“Y-you too, hyung.”

Sol-young sat next to Hamin in casual attire—a light jacket and shorts.

“And you’re going to night study after all this exercise? That’s impressive. Most people wouldn’t have the stamina.”

“Y-yeah, that’s why I often collapse from drowsiness when I relax. At least here I’m okay.”

“…Hm? What do you mean by ‘here I’m okay’?”

At Sol-young’s question, Hamin hesitated before carefully speaking.

“At least Do-young won’t come looking for me in the men’s changing room. There’s nowhere else I can relax…”

“…”

Hamin sighed a complex sigh with multiple meanings,

and Sol-young tilted his head curiously at the sight.

‘What’s this? Is their relationship not what I thought…?’

It felt like seeing an employee trapped by an oppressive boss,

or a husband living under a domineering wife.

Could his assumption be wrong?

Sol-young, wondering, took out the phone from his pocket.

‘I should have some family photos from last summer.’

After unlocking the phone, he found a family photo in a hidden gallery folder, zoomed in on Do-young, and showed it to Hamin.

“Hamin.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you need this photo?”

“What photo… WHOA!”

Seeing the photo Sol-young showed him, Hamin immediately jumped up from his seat.

“W-why are you suddenly showing me this photo?!”

“I just thought you might want it.”

“Why would I ‘want’ it rather than just look at it?!”

The photo Sol-young showed was a family beach vacation photo from their last trip together.

‘He’s blushing faster than I expected.’

Seeing Do-young in appropriately bold beachwear for the setting, Hamin’s face quickly turned red.

And that signal naturally spread beyond just his face.

‘I thought so…’

So he does have feelings for her.

That’s what Sol-young thought.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t react so quickly…

‘Wait. Why is it still growing?’